


Teacher's Assistant

by officialzeloswilder



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Cute Kids, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Sheelos, Teaching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 10:30:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4218318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/officialzeloswilder/pseuds/officialzeloswilder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sheena doesn't expect much of a challenge from taking over for Raine's class, but only two minutes have passed when she begins to doubt herself. Early dismissal? Class outside? Did Raine really do this stuff? Just as Sheena abandons hope of this substitute thing ever going well, help comes in the form of an unexpected assistant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teacher's Assistant

                Iselia wasn’t exactly what Sheena would call “well-stocked” in the teaching department. Sure, Raine was there but even the best needed a vacation here and there. Lloyd said they should all pitch in—teach the kids a little something on a designated day so Raine could take a week off. Regal dropped by and gave a talk about business and economics, Lloyd did a talk about dwarven crafts that dissolved into a day of full-fledged recess, and Sheena? Well…

                The Iselia class had to only be made up of maybe six kids. She swallowed her nerves and looked over the desks in front of her at the little faces staring back. Her fingers lifted to count them off but she shoved them behind her back when her shakes gave sight to her anxiety. What had Lloyd told her to say? Talk about Mizuho? How was she supposed to do that for an hour, let alone for three hours until Colette came to take over? She grinded her teeth together. This was just getting exponentially worse and worse with each passing second.

                A little boy at the front of the class—who looked to be maybe six years old—lifted his hand. “Ms. Fujibayashi?”

                Sheena raised her eyebrows and nodded. “Y-yes? What is it?”

                “Well…” He bashfully kicked his feet out, letting them swing back and forth under his desk. “Professor Sage usually lets us go outside for our lessons.”

                Did she? Sheena couldn’t remember Raine saying otherwise… She thought back to their journey; How Raine had taught Colette, Lloyd, and Genis in any environment, and suddenly doubt flooded her. The classroom seemed so dingy and Raine never seemed uncomfortable teaching outside… Maybe the kid was right.

                “She says—she says,” his confidence raised with each word while Sheena let him have the floor, “She says the oxygen outside helps us get smarter!”

                The other kids nodded in agreement. Sheena bit her lip and rubbed her hand against the back of her sash. “Is that what she says?” Her throat rubbed dry.

                The little boy reared up, fingers busied with gathering his stuff. “And today is an early out day! We only stay for half the day—”

                “Hey hey! What do you think you’re doing, kid? Sit back down!”

                Zelos’s sharp tone propelled the kid scrambling back into his seat like a pup with his tail between his legs. Sheena balked, turned, and made to send a glare in Zelos’s direction. By the time she had her attention off the boy, Zelos had already rounded about the desks and slid in close to her side. His hand stretched up and took light grip of her shoulder. He guided her to turn away from the kids.

                “You’re being played like a beautiful, spaced-out fiddle, jubilees,” Zelos cooed, all amusement and honey in his voice. “Your orphan status and ninja town past are showiiiiiing. Have you ever seen a kid in your life?”

                She went warm all over from embarrassment and slapped his hand away. “What are you talking about?” she snapped.

                “Class outside? Early dismissal?” He snorted but let his hand hang at his side. “Puhlease. Oldest tricks in the book.”

                Before Sheena could retort, Zelos’s head snapped back to the class. He pointed at a kid, another young boy, in the back. “What is that?” he demanded.

                The boy, a little younger than the chatty one from before, went wide in the eyes as his hands scrambled to shove something under the table. “Keep it out of sight,” Zelos said, voice a bit softer but still firm, “Or you might as well consider it mine. Ya got it?”

                “Yes, sir!” the boy yelped.

                “Zelos!” Sheena slapped his arm. “Stop being so mean!”

                He turned his attention away from the class. “They’re restless and you’re up here, all doe-eyed and shaky. They’re trying to take advantage and you’re letting them.”

                “What?” She hunched just a little to hide her face from the kids and crossed her arms tight against her chest. “They wouldn’t. They’re just kids.”

                “Hunny, that’s just the thing.” He patted her arm in sympathy. “Kids are the worst.”

                “Well, how am I supposed to know? I didn’t go to school like this!”

                “Lucky for you, I did.” Zelos turned around completely and smiled at the kids. “Kleptomaniac, in the back, what’s your name?” he urged.

                The little boy said something like Jesse. Zelos nodded and then pointed to the girl next to him. “And you, sweetheart?”

                Like all females of any age, the girl beamed at his attention. “I’m Sarah.”

                Zelos smiled. “Such a pretty name for a pretty girl!”

                And then he continued on, taking the names of the other four children (Felix—the boy from the front, Caleb, Rhoda, and Nicky) with patience and authority none of them dared to challenge. While a part of Sheena relaxed and wanted to thank him for having some idea how to deal with the kids, another part of her wanted to make another chosen sized hole right next to the Colette shaped opening in the school wall. Where did Zelos get off? Just waltzing in and taking over! She wasn’t completely hopeless and it wasn’t like she had told any of the kids they could go outside! The nerve of this guy—

                “Do you guys know anything about Mizuho?”

                Zelos had hopped up on Raine’s desk, one leg curled up under him in casual comfort while the other swung lazy off the side. He leaned back, tilted his head, and nodded in the direction of Sarah when she lifted her hand.

                “It’s a ninja village!”

                “Pretty _and_ smart! You’ll make anybody swoon when you’re older.”

                _Ugh, he was absolutely hopeless._

                “What do you know about ninjas?”

                Sarah’s confidence faltered and she shoved her hands under the table. Little Felix waved his hand. Zelos raised his eyebrows at him and, while Felix almost visibly winced at the look, he spoke anyway. “They kill people! All sneaky-like!” He made a makeshift mask with his hands over his face. “Like assassins!” Now it was Sheena’s turn to wince.

                Zelos only tutted. “Not quite.”

                His head lulled back against his shoulder and he considered Sheena with a welcoming expression. “You should tell them that story about how you had to sneak into Governor Conan’s estate to prove his guilt in that ponzi scheme,” he said in a loud whisper. Sheena’s eyebrows tugged together and he added, even louder, “The one where you had to beat up an entire squad of swordsmen all by yourself.”

                “I don’t see what that has to do with—”

                When she heard six little gasps emanate from the desks in front of her, she suddenly understood what Zelos was getting at. Felix didn’t even bother to raise his hand as he blurted, “You beat up a bunch of swordsmen by yourself? With what?!”

                “She fights with spell cards.” Zelos couldn’t hide his pride.

                “Can we see?” Jesse piped from the back.

                Zelos clapped his hands together. “I don’t see why not! Everybody come up here, we’ll all get a good look at these cards!”

                The little ones stumbled over themselves to get to the front of the class. Sheena barely had time to pull her cards out before the kids were all crowded about at her feet.

                “Calm down and sit down.”

                Zelos didn’t have to use his stern voice this time. The kids knew well enough by now to immediately listen and they all took appropriate seats at Sheena’s feet. Her hands ran over the cards so they became enchanted and hovered out—each child now with a card in front of their face. Sarah gasped, “Oh cool! What’s the markings mean?!”

                “No! I wanna know what the pictures are for!” Rhoda countered.

                “But what’s the card made out of!?” Little Jesse.

                Sheena glanced at Zelos and he smiled at her, encouraging and warm.

                _The bastard._

                “Thank you,” she mouthed.

                He shrugged.

                “Anything for you,” he mouthed back.


End file.
